Method of enriching cannabis oil with cannabinol

Abstract

A method of increasing CBN content in a Cannabinoid oil includes processing plant parts from one or more cannabis plants to create processed plant parts, extracting a Cannabinoid oil from the processed plant parts, and refining the Cannabinoid oil to increase CBN content.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A method of increasing CBN content in a Cannabis oil, comprising:
 processing plant parts from one or more cannabis plants to create processed plant parts;   extracting a Cannabis oil from the processed plant parts; and   refining the Cannabis oil to increase CBN content.   
     
     
         2 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the one or more cannabis plants include both male and female cannabis plants. 
     
     
         3 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the processing comprises:
 at least one of drying or freezing plant tissues from the plant parts to create prepared plant parts;   pulverizing the prepared plant parts to create pulverized plant powders; and   incubating the pulverized plant powders.   
     
     
         4 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein processing comprises:
 suspending the pulverized plant powders in a buffer solution prior to incubating, wherein a concentration of pectinase and cellulases enzymes in the buffer solution is varied to ensure optimal digestion of cell walls in the pulverized plant parts.   
     
     
         5 . The method of  claim 4 , wherein the buffer solution includes a concentration of 1 mg/ml each of pectinase and cellulases enzymes. 
     
     
         6 . The method of  claim 3 , wherein the incubating comprises:
 heating the pulverized plant parts to a temperature of between 35 and 39° C. for a period of between 6 to 12 hours; and   shaking the pulverized plant parts on a shaker platform while incubating to distribute the contents of the pulverized plant parts to create digested extracts.   
     
     
         7 . The method of  claim 6 , wherein heating the pulverized plant parts when incubating includes heating to a temperature of 37° C. 
     
     
         8 . The method of  claim 6 , comprising:
 steam heating the digested extracts to evaporate an aqueous phase from the digested extracts to create heated extracts comprised of solids and the Cannabis oil.   
     
     
         9 . The method of  claim 8 , wherein the steam heating converts THC-A in the digested plant parts into THC. 
     
     
         10 . The method of  claim 8 , comprising:
 dissolving the heated plant parts with 100 percent ethanol to dissolve pigments and the Cannabis oil to create an ethanol extract.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , comprising:
 filtering the ethanol extract through a 100-mesh filter to remove the solids and filtering through a bed of charcoal to remove the pigments to create an ethanol filtrate containing the ethanol with the Cannabis oil.   
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein refining comprises:
 heating the ethanol filtrate containing the Cannabis oil and ethanol to evaporate the ethanol and leave behind the Cannabis oil.   
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 12 , comprising:
 subjecting the ethanol filtrate to super critical CO2 extraction.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 12 , comprising:
 diluting the Cannabis oil with at least one of coconut oil, olive oil, or hemp oil, or any other oil to lighten and thin the thickness of the Cannabis oil.   
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 14 , comprising:
 bubbling Oxygen and ozone through the Cannabis oil while exposing the Cannabinoid oil to UV light for between 1 and 24 hours or longer to convert THC to CBN.   
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 15 , comprising:
 purifying the Cannabis oil with preparative column chromatography to obtain pure CBN.   
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein the Cannabis oil is labeled and stored for medical prescription use as oils, tinctures, tonics, and beverages, or wherein the oil is used in blends for approved bio-medical purposes. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 15 , comprising blending the Cannabis oil with other cannabinoids, cannabis terpenes, terpenes from other plant sources, flavanoids, L-theanine, various antioxidants from plants, flavoring agents, extracts from black pepper as bioavailability agents and other phytochemicals in order to formulate supplements that may be used to treat many different medical conditions in humans and animals. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 15 , wherein the Cannabis oil with the THC converted to CBN is made into at least one of a water soluble form or a liposomal product. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 1 , comprising:
 utilizing older Cannabis plants that contain more CBN than younger plants for the plant parts.   
     
     
         21 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein refining the Cannabis oil includes converting THC in the Cannabis oil to CBN by oxidation.